Spectre
by Dark Cosmos
Summary: Star Trek:TNG xover...this is WAY out there, only a short excerpt from a series of comics I'm working on, a different flavor, and a new man to test on Usagi. Let me know if you'd like to read more about these two, intrigued?


------------Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters! 

------------Author's Note: Before you begin reading, bear with me, it's been ages since I last posted anything, or wrote anything for that matter, it's a long story. Anyways, Star Trek has become my new passion, and this couple is VERY out of the ordinary. Please drop me a review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticisms are welcome, but for those of you who think the age differences is gross, I for one am someone who prefers older men, so this is personal taste. I'm not mentally ill, I swear!

-_continued from an excerpt of "Spectre" by William Shatner, this is an alternate universe version_

cont'd...

The Klingon warriors wasted in no time dragging Jean-Luc Picard through the corridor towards a destination he wasn't sure was intended. The large one next to him held his grasp painfully firm, he looked down at the captain and gave him a vicious sneer, daring him to try and fight back. Picard resisted the urge, and instead found himself wide-eyed in awe at his surroundings as he was lead into a dark, large, circular room.

The air was cool, perhaps on purpose, he wasn't sure. Before him, the room elevated into another level, with the back shrouded into darkness. The Klingons began making low growls in the back of their throats, Picard turned to see a woman, bound at the wrists standing nearby. She too had the Klingon ridges on her forehead, but her elegant elongated ears gave away her hybrid status. Here was Telani, Jim Kirk's lover, dressed in silks that were far too revealing in design. She gave him a look of helplessness, her beautiful face marred only by the scar left from the virus that nearly killed her. What she was doing there, Picard was about to find out.

"Lovely, isn't she, Jean-Luc?" A mocking, soft voice spoke from the shadows, Picard searched for the source, recognizing the voice like an eerie echo. A form finally stepped out, and motioned for the Klingons to leave his presence. Picard was looking at himself, his mirror from a different universe. Although this Picard was distinctly different, garbed in Klingon armor, what hair he had left at the back of his head, long, and braided like a warrior would have it. The Regent gave a cold, mocking smile at his counterpart. "I brought her here for safe keeping, although, I must admit, nice for a view". The Regent slowly made his way down a couple of steps, still keeping enough of a distance from Picard to keep a cautious space. Picard allowed himself a closer look at the mirror-Picard, and noticed an ugly scratch on his face, deep enough to have been there for a while, scarred permanently into his flesh.

"Where are the others of my crew?" Picard allowed himself to speak, daring to test the differences of this other man, the Regent's smile never faltered.

"Not far, I wanted to see you face to face...I was curious. I wanted to see how similar we truly are. You do have a brother?"

"Yes..." Picard resisted answering for a short moment, but there was no point in avoiding it, the Regent wanted his fun.

"With Louisa? And their daughter..."

"Marie, and they had a son". The Regent gave a short nod.

"Ah, so there are differences, they're doing well, then? Carrying on the family business?"

"Robert and Rene were killed..."

"You killed them?" The Regent's eyes glittered, Picard frowned at him.

"An accident."

"Of course", Regent Picard folded his hands behind his back and took another step closer, almost at eye level now, his smile continued to play on his features, being entertained with each question answered. "Tell me, Jean-Luc, do you have a Beverly Howard too?" The smile faded if ever so slightly as he awaited his answer, Picard could feel himself bristle in defense.

"Yes, Doctor Crusher". The Regent gave a short laugh.

"Ah, Jack Crusher, I won her from him, I killed him for her possession, she did this on our wedding night", he pulled off one of the leather gloves his sported, revealing a scarred hand, he brought those fingers to the scratch underneath his eye. "You can imagine what I did with her after that", he gave a feral grin, Picard dared not to think it in his own mind. "I suppose your Beverly is much more giving".

"We do not have that kind of relationship". The Regent closed his mouth and gave another short nod of acknowledgment.

"After that, I swore I would never have another woman like that again, I was going to wait until I could find myself perfection. Those are very difficult to find..." The Regent looked towards Telani who stood there still, her eyes calculating his every move, hoping to find a moment to escape. "Do you know who this woman is, Jean-Luc?" He looked again to his counterpart, Picard hesitated.

"No". The Regent rose his eyebrows in surprise, and then, a soft, cool voice cut in from the shadows.

"He's lying". The voice didn't startle the Regent, but Picard found himself straining his eyes to find the source of the sound, distinctly feminine and haunting. The Regent noticed, and allowed himself the same mocking smile.

"Come here, _ma cher"_, he held out his hand, the same one that was now bare, and waited. Picard heard the sounds of metallic clanking, and could see a faint glow emanating from the back of the room. From the shadows came the image of a woman Picard had never seen before, and could never have even imagined before. She had a body that seemed to have been sculpted by an artist, garbed in expensive foreign silks and jewels, in all the right places. Her eyes were of the deepest blue, and stared down at him with a blank, unblinking gaze, studying him. Her skin was as pale as curd, and her hair a golden blond, styled in the oddest way, two buns that spilt long streamers of soft hair, that fell nearly to the ground behind her. The glow had come from a crescent moon etched into her forehead, a soft white hand reached out to take that of the one offered to her, as she descended the steps before her to stand next to the Regent.

"He knows her", the woman spoke again, just as softly, her eyes still cold and unfeeling, watching Picard as he studied her in wonder.

"Of course he does, _ma cher_, I was testing him." He looked at Picard, letting the woman's hand go and moving to stand slightly behind her, reaching his gloved hand up and around her chin, to tilt her head backwards towards him, stroking the jeweled collar fastened around her throat. She obeyed in silence, allowing his intimate touch. "What do you think of Usagi, Jean-Luc? It took me several years to find perfection. Here she is, by the name of Nogura, the last descendant of Usagi Chiba, daughter of Neo-Queen Serenity of legend. Gifted with some of the same abilities of her ancestor, including her empathic senses." Picard continued to drink in the image of the beauty, her name...Usagi...

"Of course, you and I don't believe in fairy tales...but this one, she isn't a myth. It took me a while to track her down, she was thirteen when I found the family. Of course I forced her parents into allowing me to marry her before I had them killed. It wasn't hard at all for me to break her spirit, she wasn't as defiant as Beverly was." The Regent looked down at his wife and gave her a smile that was anything but affectionate, he returned at her side again, she with her eyes still trained on Picard. "You know, since she was partly Lunarian, they say that race typically has a hard time conceiving...explaining why they had such a small population, but Usagi here has already given me six children."

Picard felt his stomach begin to sour, the Regent's scarred hand rose and came across Usagi's face with a hard crack echoing into the large room. Her head snapped to the side, and she allowed herself a short wince before standing upright again, still staring toward Picard. The Regent laughed.

"Want to know my secret? As it turns out, a Lunarian's healing power works best when under the most stress, all I had to do was beat her a little harder to force her body to have a fertile womb." Picard felt his stomach lurch in protest at the sound of those words, he called up all the self control he had not to lunge forward at the tyrant. "She has been invaluable to me, too bad you don't have one yourself." For a split second Picard found himself straining his memory for recollection of the name Nogura, for she may exist, or perhaps in another alternate universe he may indeed have a life with such a woman...

The Regent approached him for the first time now, coming close enough that each man could feel the other's body heat.

"Tell me, what do you think I should do with Telani? I would love to get Kirk out of hiding, you know". Picard felt his fist clench, his attention now completely on the man in front of him. "Perhaps if I kill her, that might work, hm, Jean-Luc?" The Regent's smile suddenly faded as his eyes rolled up to the back of his head, Picard found himself instinctively reaching forward as the Regent's suddenly limp body fell forward toward him. He let the body drop to the ground and heard Telani's surprised gasp from nearby, Picard looked up into the cold eyes of Usagi, a sparkle now showing in the blue depths, her hand holding a bloodied dagger of Klingon design.

"Poison tipped'', she said softly, "but not lethal, it'll only keep him out for a few minutes", she hurried towards Telani with the dagger and freed Telani as quickly as she could, turning and handing the weapon to Picard. "You should hurry, go help your friends". She offered a slight smile, Picard resisted the urge to reach out and touch her face, Telani made a gesture indicating Usagi was right, they should hurry.

-----------------


End file.
